Five reasons the new Ford Territory is better than ever
It is an understatement to say that Ford Philippines has been successful with its Territory compact SUV offering. In fact, blue oval has sold over 25,000 units in total, with over 5,000 being of the new current generation version. In celebration, Ford Philippines brought us, as well as a couple other members of the motoring media community on a drive to Tagaytay through Rizal and Laguna, to appreciate their very strong performing model.
For those who don’t know, I myself am a part of that 25,000-strong Ford Territory owners community. I purchased my 2021 Ford Territory Titanium+ back in February 2021 and have since been happy with it. This drive though proves that Ford has done its homework, improving it by leaps and bounds. Here are five things why the new one is better, from a first generation Territory owner’s perspective:
More Stylish and Premium
The first thing that Ford has improved has to be the looks. Wearing their new design language, seen in models from overseas markets such as the Ford Equator, Mondeo, and Evos. The split LED daytime running lights and headlights give it an aggressive yet classy appearance while the large 19-inch machine-finish alloy wheels give it a large dose of style.
Its interior has also been greatly improved with a more modern and premium look. Materials used now really fit with the rest of Ford’s lineup, feeling much more solid than the previous generation. Also, the heavy use of soft-touch plastics and padded leather, as well as faux wood trim, combined with the choices of two-tone Peacock Blue and Black, or two-tone Ivory and Black further takes it to the next level.
Comfort
In addition to its more premium interior appearance, comfort has also been greatly improved for this new generation Ford Territory as the seats now offer more support both in front and at the back. The leather material used also feels more supple and the seats themselves are much softer than before.
Ford has also improved on its suspension tuning as the Territory now offers a much softer ride quality. It may still be a bit firm but road imperfections are very well absorbed, doing a good job of balancing itself. It’s not overly soft yet it’s far from harsh.
More Practical
I’m sure you’ve noticed how much larger the new Ford Territory is compared to its previous generation. It’s 50mm longer, 1mm narrower, and 32mm taller. It also rides on a 10mm longer wheelbase compared to before. Do note though that despite being narrower, the sides of the new Territory are a bit more vertical than diagonal.
All of those translate to a much more spacious cabin which offers very comfortable seating for five people including the driver. In our case, we were three in the car during the drive, but an additional one or two definitely won’t hurt. Legroom is also very generous on the second row while cargo space is abundant.
Easier and Better to Drive
With basically the same engine powering the new Ford Territory, you’d think it had nothing to improve yet this is another thing that truly makes it better. Still with a 1.5-liter EcoBoost-branded turbocharged Inline 4-cylinder gasoline engine under the hood, it now produces 160 horsepower and 248 Nm of torque, mated to a 7-speed wet-type dual-clutch transmission.
This allows it to feel a lot more peppy and engaging to drive than before, though it does still lean on the comfort-oriented side than the performance side. Honestly though, it is still a huge improvement compared to before. The transmission, despite not being the best, still performs really well with only slight delays at times, but still much better than other DCTs.
The larger vehicle dimensions paired with larger openings for the windows and windshields also allow us to have better visibility, making it much easier to drive. In addition, Ford has kept the very light steering feel though with a little bit of weight added for better feedback.
More technology
When the previous generation Territory came out, many were instantly attracted to it thanks to its comprehensive standard equipment list, especially on the technology side.
This new one takes it further because in addition to Active Park Assist, Blind-Spot Information System (BLIS) with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA), Door opening collision warning system, and a 360-degree around-view monitor, which are standard on the Titanium, plus the addition of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Departure Warning on the Titanium X, the new Territory adds Lane Keeping Aid and Stop-and-Go function for the ACC. Also, heated and ventilated seats return on the Titanium X, and a power tailgate is now available.
Is it best-in-class?
I won’t say that the Ford Territory is the current best-in-class model as that may come out as a bit biased given that I own one of the previous generation. That said though, it’s definitely on top against the competition and given that we are already seeing more and more on the road, this is set to become yet another success story for Ford in the Philippines.
